The bubble of illusion

The beginning of wisdom is to realize that none of us see the real world – we see a world heavily distorted by our experiences, our expectations, our biases, and by the fables and untruths that we have been taught by our families, peers, and culture. In fact, every one of us lives in a bubble of illusion. For some the illusion is further from reality than for others. True education (not what usually happens in schools) is the process of trying to see through our personal bubble of illusion and get, if even only for occasional brief moments, a truer picture of the real world.

It’s because of these illusions that two people can stand side by side and witness the same event, yet see (quite literally see) two different things. What they each see will be heavily biased by their experiences, their world views, and their own expectations.

It’s not a bad starting position to assume that everything one thinks one knows is probably incorrect, in detail if not wholly, and proceed to explore and question and examine from there.

In any battle, wish for opponents and competitors whose view of the world is more clouded by prejudice, dogma, and cultural fables than your own. It gives you a substantial advantage.